The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to an auxiliary storage system which is installed in a storage space and of which temperature can be controlled separately from the storage space.
In general, a side-by-side refrigerator has a relatively large storage capacity and provides various and multiplex functions. Further, the refrigerator includes refrigerating and freezing chambers that are installed side by side with respect to each other.
A storage compartment of which temperature can be individually controlled is additionally installed within the refrigerating or freezing chamber of the refrigerator so that specific stored goods therein can be stored for a long time. To this end, the temperature in the storage compartment is set to be different from that of the refrigerating or freezing chamber.
A refrigerator in which such a storage compartment is installed is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,170,276. However, the refrigerator disclosed in the ""276 patent has the following problems.
That is, there is a problem in that the goods stored in the storage compartment are influenced by the temperature of the refrigerating or freezing chamber in which the storage compartment is installed, since thermal insulation between the storage compartment and the exterior thereof is not sufficiently performed.
Further, in order to maintain freshness of the goods stored in the storage compartment, the stored goods are subjected to indirect cooling. According to the refrigerator disclosed in the above patent, a cold air supply port for supplying cold air from the freezing chamber to the vicinity of the storage compartment and a cold air discharge port for discharging the cold air from the vicinity of the storage compartment to the freezing chamber are formed to be adjacent to each other. Therefore, there is another problem in that the cold air cannot be transferred uniformly throughout the storage compartment.
In addition, there is a further problem in that the refrigerating chamber may be excessively cooled if the cold air, which is supplied from the freezing chamber to the vicinity of the storage compartment installed within the refrigerating chamber so as to maintain the temperature in the storage compartment, leaks out to the refrigerating chamber.
Therefore, the present invention is conceived to solve the aforementioned problems of the prior art. An object of the present invention is to provide an auxiliary storage system wherein a temperature in an auxiliary storage compartment formed additionally within a storage space of a refrigerator is not completely influenced by a temperature in the storage space of the refrigerator.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an auxiliary storage system wherein the temperature in the auxiliary storage compartment can be uniformly maintained throughout the storage compartment.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an auxiliary storage system wherein cold air supplied to the auxiliary storage compartment cannot leak out to the interior of the storage space with the auxiliary storage compartment installed therein.
According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above objects, there is provide an auxiliary storage system which comprises an insulating body which includes a forwardly opened predetermined space therein, is installed within a storage space of the refrigerator, and are formed of insulating material to prevent heat exchange with the storage space; a blower fan unit for supplying cold air into the insulating body; a heat transfer tray installed within the space of the insulating body for defining a cold air flow passage between the insulating body and the heat transfer tray and performing heat exchange between an internal space thereof and the cold air flowing through the flow passage; a drawer type auxiliary storage compartment which can be pushed into and pulled out from the heat transfer tray through a front face of the insulating body; a shelf for shielding a top side of the insulating body so as to define a space for accommodating the auxiliary storage compartment in cooperation with the insulating body; a sensing device installed within the auxiliary storage compartment for sensing a temperature therein; and a temperature control device for controlling the temperature in the auxiliary storage compartment by controlling the blower fan unit while comparing information on the temperature sensed by the sensing device with a temperature set by a user.
It is preferred that the insulating body be installed at one side of a refrigerating chamber formed adjacent to a freezing chamber, and that the cold air in the freezing chamber be supplied into the insulating body through any one of rear and front sides of the insulating body and is discharged from the insulating chamber through the other side thereof.
It is also preferred that a cell cover for maintaining humidity in the auxiliary storage compartment is further provided between a bottom surface of the shelf and a top side of the insulating body.
Further, it is preferred that the blower fan unit be installed at a rear portion within the insulating body and the heat transfer tray be made of aluminum.
Fixing rings, which are made of elastic materials and installed around protruding portions of a cold air supply port and a cold air discharge port of a barrier toward the insulating body, may be seated into a cold air inlet and a cold air outlet of the insulating body, respectively, and a corner of the insulating body opposite to the cold air inlet and outlet may be supported by an elastic support which is seated onto a corner of the storage space, whereby the insulating body is fixed into the storage space.
Furthermore, it is preferred that the fixing rings take a hollow conical shape and each of the cold air inlet and outlet have a shape corresponding to that of the fixing ring.